


Silence is a Measure of Distance

by Charaiosity (Kundiman)



Series: Degrees of Separation [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Angst, Character Study, F/M, M/M, Other, Pining, Protagonist cannot spit it out, Reader-Insert, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2016-12-05
Packaged: 2018-09-06 15:50:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8759257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kundiman/pseuds/Charaiosity
Summary: There is so much you want to say to him in that moment, but you can’t find the words.In which Gladion opens up to the protagonist, and the protagonist doesn't.  They immediately regret it for the rest of their life.Major spoilers for Pokemon Sun and Moon.UPDATE: Now with a dramatic reading by Psycho Sinked! Link in the beginning notes.





	

**Author's Note:**

> There are too little Gladion fics
> 
> Let's fix that
> 
> UPDATE: Psycho Sinked did a dramatic reading of this fic! Find it here if you want to read along: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc2BTYLFGHY

You find him outside, staring at the horizon from behind the railings surrounding the perimeter of Aether Paradise.

It was a clear, quiet night, the calm ocean beyond the confines of the artificial island perfectly mirroring the starry sky above.  The full moon above shone down brightly, bathing everything in a soft white glow.  You could hear the gentle lapping of the waves and the distant sound of nocturnal Pokemon in the conservation area.  You stand beside him, leaning on the railings and taking in a breath of the cool sea breeze.  If he noticed you arriving, he didn’t show anything to suggest it.

You didn’t mind.  You were just glad to stay in his presence.

For a while, the two you stay like that, neither one acknowledging the other, until you finally break the silence.

“Can’t sleep, huh.”

You say it simply, as if it were a statement of fact.  Gladion bows his head, and it’s all the affirmation you need.  You nod in understanding, and you go silent for a while, letting him open up in his own time.  Eventually, he begins to speak, still not looking at you.

“Lillie called me today.  Mother’s condition has worsened.  It’s stabilized as of now, but it’s not likely that she’ll return to good health anytime soon, if at all.  There’s a chance that she’ll be bedridden her entire life.”

You hummed in sympathy.

“I see.  I’m sorry to hear that.”

He just nodded at that.

The conversation dies down again for a bit, until Gladion speaks again.

“The board is debating about the future of Aether.  As the eldest, I’m in the position to inherit ownership of the foundation, but many are concerned as to how qualified I am to do so, considering I haven’t even finished my studies yet.  Wicke has been considered as an interim president until then, but there are some who argue, quite accurately, that while Lusamine is still alive, she remains the president, and nobody can really make a concrete decision without her.”

He sighs deeply, and runs a hand through his hair.

“I suppose I should have expected it sooner or later.  Even without all of this, I would have inherited the Aether Foundation eventually.  I just always thought that by the time I did, I’d be prepared.”

He looks at you uncertainly, as if worried about your reaction.  You give him a patient smile in response, a silent encouragement for him to keep going.  He turns his head back towards the horizon, a pained expression on his face.

“Truth be told, somewhere in the back of my mind, I always think that my mother is going to get better, and that she’ll come back and take the reins again.  That eventually, we can be a happy family again, the way we were before the Ultra Beasts and before my father went missing.  But, little by little, I slowly realize that it’s not going to happen, and I’m not the little kid I once was anymore.  I have to grow up and take responsibility.  For Aether, and for my sister.”

“Gladion…”

You attempt to reach out to him, but withdraw at the last moment, afraid that you might come off as presumptuous about the closeness of your relationship.  A tense silence fills the space between the two of you.  You mull over your words carefully, thinking of the right thing to say to him in this moment.  However, all you can come up with is ‘I’m sorry’.

He turns to look at you, a questioning look on his face.

“What for?”

“For everything, I guess.  It’s not fair to you.  None of this is.”

He scoffs disdainfully.

“Life doesn’t give a damn about fairness.  If you’re unlucky enough to be dealt a bad hand, you have no choice but to deal with it, regardless of whether you’re prepared for it or not.”

 You turn towards him in concern, growing uneasy at his tone.  You will yourself to say something helpful, but nothing comes to mind.

He looks down, hands gripping tightly onto the railings, his pale knuckles growing whiter in the strain.

“You know, until today, some part of me feels like a failure for how little I was able to do when Lusamine and Guzma disappeared into Ultra Space.  I spent two years trying to get strong enough to oppose my mother, only to be stopped in my tracks shortly before I even get to her.  I don’t know what would have even happened that day if you and Hau weren’t there to help us.”

You begin to say something, if just to stop him from continuing this train of thought, but he keeps going, talking to himself more than he is to you.

“I couldn’t bring myself to even go with you and Lillie.  I felt so weak and useless.  I tried to help by managing Aether while you were all gone, but in hindsight, it was really just an excuse I gave myself so that I didn’t have to come face to face with my own ineptitude.  I had to rely on you to keep my own sister safe, and to save my mother.  Lillie isn’t even a trainer, damn it, and still she was able to do what I couldn’t!”

“I’m so pathetic!” He exclaimed, hunching over the railings in frustration.

In your distress at his words, you don’t realize that you had placed your hand over his and moved slightly closer than before.  You catch yourself in time, retracting your hand as if you were burned by his touch.  He looked at you for a moment, expression unreadable, before looking down again.  You could feel your throat tighten.

“Gladion, please don’t say that.”

He slumped over, defeated.

“And why not?  It’s true, isn’t it?  What have I done that proves otherwise?  I should have realized this the moment I left my sister to fend for herself against our mother.  I didn’t even stop to consider how difficult it would be for her.  I just abandoned her in my desire to get away with Type: Null.”

He looks away from you and says in a hushed tone, “I’m so pathetic.”

There is so much you want to say to him in that moment.

You think of the courage and nobility it takes to stand up to your own mother and steal a Pokemon from her because you didn’t agree with her designs for it, even if it meant giving up on an easy, comfortable life.

You think of the two years he spent alone, learning how to take care of himself and his Pokemon on his own, training with Type: Null to become strong enough to oppose the Aether Foundation controlled by Lusamine.

You think of Sivally and his Pokemon, how loyal they are to him, and how they fought for him with all their might in the countless times you’ve faced off against each other on the battlefield.

You think of this brave, kind, and determined young man, and you want to tell him how utterly amazing you find him to be, and how you feel like you’ll never find someone as striking as he is ever again in your lifetime.

There is so much you want to say to him in that moment, but you can’t find the words.

Instead, you watch silently as he gathers himself, still not looking at you.

“I’m sorry for suddenly unloading my burdens onto you like that.  I don’t mean to be ungrateful for your help, or to make you worried.  We’re not even friends or anything like that, so forgive me if I overstepped my boundaries.”

He turns away from you.  The moon's light casts a soft halo around his form.

“Please, just… forget this conversation ever happened.”

He bids you goodnight, and leaves.

Soon enough, you are alone with your thoughts.

You could still hear the gentle lapping of the ocean’s waves in the distance.

And you start to cry.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this when I had the motivation to write, but not the inspiration. Sorry if the plot seems aimless. This is also my first time writing a fic that isn't protag-centric, so they're not as complex a character as I would have liked.
> 
> My fics are getting shorter and shorter and I don't like it >:(


End file.
